Delhi confdential: Lone Exception

Sources said one reason could be Trivedi was nominated to the seat that fell vacant after former Union Minister Arun Jaitley died in August 2019

Rajya Sabha elections, BJP renominates candidates, Sudhanshu Trivedi, Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha elections 2024, Delhi confidential, indian express news

New Delhi: Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar felicitates retiring Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi during a farewell function in honour of retiring Members of Rajya Sabha, in New Delhi, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh Narayan Singh is also seen. (PTI Photo/Atul Yadav)(PTI02_08_2024_000332A)

In its first list of candidates for the February 27 Rajya Sabha election released on Sunday, the BJP has renominated only one from the outgoing members — Sudhanshu Trivedi. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted most of the senior members from the Upper House to contest the Lok Sabha elections, the party seemed to have made an exception for Trivedi.

Sources said one reason could be Trivedi was nominated to the seat that fell vacant after former Union Minister Arun Jaitley died in August 2019. Thus, Trivedi got just four years in the Rajya Sabha.

The other reason, party leaders said, could be that Trivedi is one of the national spokespersons and the BJP wants him to be the face and voice during the campaigns ahead of the Lok Sabha elections instead of getting himself into campaigns.

Jat Consolidation

The BJP on Sunday named former Mathura MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh for the Rajya Sabha election from Uttar Pradesh. Singh is a prominent Jat leader from western UP where the BJP is in talks with Rashtriya Lok Dal for an alliance to consolidate Jat voters.

Eyeing votes from the community, the Narendra Modi government last week had announced the Bharat Ratna for former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh. BJP’s UP state president Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh is also a Jat from western UP.

Monkey Scare

There’s a new problem keeping the Railways on its toes, quite literally, apart from delayed train schedules. The Ministry of Railways has written to its senior officials, asking them not to feed monkeys on the Rail Bhavan premises. It stated that it has been observed that a troop of monkeys are causing disruptions on the premises.

The ministry wrote to the officials stating there have been instances of monkeys entering the building posing risks to both employees and visitors. It stated that there have been reports of employees being chased, harmed, and cars being damaged by monkeys.